.babelrc

{
  "plugins": [
    "react-hot-loader/babel"// this should not be used, but still shows up if you inspect bundle
   ]
}

entry.js

console.log('whats up');

webpack.config.js

{
  entry: 'entry.js',
  output: {
    path: 'dist',
    filename: '[name].[hash].js'
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.jsx?/,
        use: [
          {
            loader: 'babel-loader',
            options: {
              babelrc: false,
              cacheDirectory: true,
              presets: [
                ['env', {
                  targets: {
                    browsers: ['> 1%']
                  }
                }]
              ]
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}